This is a segment of the Lightspeed newsletter. To read full editions, subscribe.
Former Blockchain Association CEO Kristin Smith spent almost two months as president of the newly formed Solana Policy Institute. I caught up with her to get the last in the field of Solana and Policy in Washington.
This interview has been edited for concise and clarity.
Jack: Give the American regulatory prospects a report from the report.
Kristin Smith: I would give it an “A” on the report card. If you look at the past six months, enormous progress has been made when canceling the poor policy of the latest administration. We have seen a turnaround in thebanking of crypto companies, we have seen the end of the court case, we have seen a withdrawal on various regulations, such as SAB-121, who prevented new participants in the crypto-room.
So that in itself has been incredibly successful in itself. But the fact that we have a “crypto week” in Washington next week … It seems that we are on schedule to get a Stablecoin regulatory framework that was actually signed in the law by President Trump. I think the proof is that we have come incredibly far to turn around where we were even six months ago.
Jack: I look forward to the future, what’s on your wish list on the Solana side of things while you argue for that ecosystem?
Kristin Smith: One of the things we have thought a lot about is what changes must be made, if present, at the regulation level to ensure that Solana or another public blockchain can become the home base of internet capital markets.
And we went inside to see the SEC and have made some comments about something that we took as a ‘project open’, and in fact encouraging [the SEC] To give statements and guidance and possibly exemption, and to consider a time limited sandbox so that we can get more shares that are issued onchain.
Jack: Solana is very diverse and there are many different visions on what people should build. I know you have done a Depin Summit and that is an exciting, kind of tangential thing. On which Solana sector do you spend most of your time? Or has it the most to win or losing by involvement with policy makers?